How to make a good design- Elements and principles of design:
In order to make a good design you will need in all of these elements and principles to work together correctly. If you are missing one then the design itself may not work and may end up being classed as a bad design.
- Elements of design: These will always be in every design.
- Line- This would be your focal line. A focal line is a line that your eyes will follow in the design itself. This can be the orientation of the flowers or can be done by the clear outline made by the design.
- Form- This is the 3D shape of which the design is. e.g what shape is the design?, does it dome at he top?, etc. Different forms of flowers help create the overall look of the design but not all flowers have the same overall form, e.g a Lily has a star form but a Rose has a cup form but these work together in order to create the overall look. Leaves will always be classed as a flat form. Other 3D forms will be:
- Cube, cuboid, sphere, cylinder, pyramid, cone, prism, cups (Rose's), saucers (Gerbera's), stars (Orchid and Lilies) and dome.
- Texture- There are two types of texture; visual and actual. e.g it may visually look spiky but it may actually be soft to touch. Different textures being mixed together are good for contrast as they help to accentuate the differences. Examples of textures:
- rough, soft, velvety, spiky, smooth, bumpy, sharp, course, wet, dry, fluffy, sticky, hard, feathery, crispy, hairy, furry and leathery.
- Colour- When talking about colour use the word hue. Main hues, tints (adding white), tones (adding grey) and shade (adding black). (More on colour will be in colour harmonies further down).
- Movement- There is can be physical or natural movement in a design. Physical is where the flowers move depending on the design (e.g a shower bouquet, every time the bride moves the bouquet gently sways accordingly.) Natural is more to do with the opening up of flowers, from buds to mature.
- Space- There can either be positive and/or negative space within a design. Negative is the space in which is between the design (an example of this is caging) and positive is the space around it.
- Principles of design: these are basically the rules in order to create a good design.
- Contrast- This is where showing the differences make an impact. They do this to accentuate the design this can be done with colour, texture or form.
- Dominance- This can be shown by the line (focal line),flower, colour(there is always a dominant colour), design, texture or form which has the overall most impact in the design itself and that is what makes it the most dominant.
- Proportion- Measurements, quantities and formulas. This is more the mathematical side of things. This normally is shown by form and space.
- Scale- Very similar to the above. Is it fit for purpose?. This one is more about it being visually accurate e.g table flowers for a wedding, are they obstructing you from seeing guests across the table?. This can be shown by: form (shape and size), colour (some shrink or enlarge a design), space (positive space- outline), movement (natural), line (orientation or focal line) and texture (again some shrink or enlarge a design).
- Balance- There is visual and actual balance. Actual- is it free standing?, etc. this is normally shown with form, space, line and movement. Visual- does is have equal distance, flowers or equidistant placement on both sides?, etc. this is normally shown with colour (some colour may be too overwhelming for the design or there may be under graduation of another), texture, space, form and line.
- Rhythm- This is where you eyes would travel around the design. Does your eyes travel all around the design and are not being fixated in one place? if so the the design has rhythm. This is shown by; line (this helps to draw you eyes around the design), movement ('flow' of materials or graduation of materials in various stages of bloom), texture (this helps to create different areas of interest), colour (the same as texture), form and space (is there equidistant space or is it grouped?).
- and finally Harmony- if all the above six points work well together in the design then you would have achieved harmony. Harmony will only work if all elements are used properly which would ultimately achieve all the principles listed above.
What styles of designs are there?- Categories, design schema, placement characteristics and flower hierarchy:
- Categories- There are two categories that a design will fall in to. Symmetrical or asymmetrical. I mean it speaks for itself here but I will explain anyways, symmetrical is where the design looks exactly the same on both sides just as if it was cut in half, aka mirroring. Asymmetrical is where the placements of flowers are random on both sides, this normally is better for helping your eyes travel around the design (rhythm).
- Design schema- There are normally three design schema's, Form linear- which focus's more on the form, line or silhouette of the design, decorative- 'pretty' not very overpowering but ENHANCING the atmosphere/occasion simply to decorate, and Vegetative- which more or less focuses on how the plant/materials would naturally look and/or grow.
- Placement characteristics-
- Rows:
- Simple- this is the standard placement of focal flowers. This normally applies to more traditional designs.
- Free- this is a more wild, natural and non specified pattern. Good examples of this would be vegetative designs.
- Rhythmic- this is more repetitious or has graduation. e.g: from big to small.
- Sequencing- this is more for having the same thing over and over again. e.g big, small, big, small and so on.
- Distribution:
- Even- this would be equidistant and evenly placed materials.
- Varied density- this would be very natural, e.g vegetative or form linear.
- Scattered or random- this would look more thrown in or would have random placements.
- Asymmetrical or symmetrical groupings- again asymmetrical means there is more one side than the other as whereas symmetrical would be evenly grouped both sides.
- Flower hierarchy- Flower hierarchy means which flowers have more of an impact than others. This helps when talking about dominance.
- High impact examples:
- Banksia
- Protea
- Strelitzia (Bird of paradise)
- Vanda Orchids
- Alpinia
- Heliconias
- These are the most unsual so tend to catch you eye more than the ones we are so used to seeing, hence why these are a high impact material.
- Medium impact examples:
- Carnation
- Aster
- Waxflower
- Rose
- Gerbera
- These are normally the usual everyday flowers that we see or use. They can still however create a high impact on a design if used correctly but generally speaking they are only a medium impact material.
- Low impact examples:
- Moss
- Foliages
- Sisal
- These tend to hide the mechanics of the design. They can create a medium impact material if they are used as a main focus but they are only a low impact material.
When writing reviews of my own work you will come across the floristry techniques that I used in the design so here are the definitions of each of them just to make life a little bit easier for you!:
- Baling- compressing and tying fine plane materials into a geometric shape such as a rectangular bale of tied grasses. Within the outline individual components have a random placement and are not strictly ordered.
- Banding- using materials in a decorative manner in strips to encircle in a close order and to bring attention to a particular area.
- Basing (aka massing, blocking and bedding)- using materials in a close order, covering a foundation to form a closed surface. Variations of basing include: pavé, pillowing, layering and texturing.
- Binding- using flexible materials to secure together materials in one or more positions in a close order at a binding point.
- Bundling- materials (usually of the same type) bound and fixed together at one or more points for control, to create a dense bunch with spiralled, parallel or randomly positioned stems.
- Caging- placing materials over the top of a design or area of the design in a 3D manner to create an enclosed space or volume.
- Clamping- fixing materials together by creating a clamp. Normally used in structural work.
- Clustering- grouping short stemmed materials together to lose the individual identity, forming a composite.
- Cupping/coning- manipulation of 2D materials to create a 3d cone form.
- Feathering- petals are removed from the whole flower and wired into small groups, creating a smaller form.
- Framing- placement of materials outside the focal area of the design to create an implied boundary, creating a 'frame' to the focal area.
- Gluing- using hot or cold glue to attach materials
- Graduating- graduating individual materials. e.g using light-dark materials, big-small, colour, texture or spacing of materials.
- Grouping- gathering the same materials to create an area of dominance.
- Lacing- a dense network of fine, intertwined materials, functional or even decorative. e.g grass, vine or threads.
- Layering- placing materials on top of, or partially overlapping with little to no space in between.
- Mirroring- symmetrical placement of materials or groups in a design, creating the implication of reflection.
- Parallel- each stem has its own point of origin; no stems connect or cross each other. This can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal.
- Pavé- creating a shallow but very textured surface. Originated in jewelry making, creating the appearance of gem stones set side by side into a base, using very short stems and creating an almost flat surface once complete.
- Pillowing- basing with a strong profile.
- Pinning- securing materials with a pin.
- Plaiting- Interweaving three individual strands of flexible material in a decorative manner.
- Pleating- manipulation of materials to create regular or irregular folds.
- Rolling- manipulation of 2D materials into a 3D cylindrical form.
- Shadowing- placing one similar material directly behind the other, or below, to assist recession and increase depth of design.
- Sheltering- placing one or more materials over a design, giving a protected or covered impression. Creates a strong sense of negative space. Usually one stem or broad leaf to give the impression of an 'umbrella'.
- Spiralling- placing stems adjacently diagonal to one another, angled around a central axis.
- Stacking- layered placement of materials on top of one another to create an orderly pile.
- Stapling- using a staple to secure.
- Taping- using para film to secure and seal the stem.
- Terracing- materials of the same type and colour placed diagonally in a stepped manner, unlike layering, space is evident to allow for the different levels/depths to be accentuated.
- Threading- piercing and stringing materials to create a narrow garland or Lei.
- Tying/Knotting- fixing one or more materials together in a way which is self supporting.
- Veiling- placing light or decorative materials over other more solid forms, in order to shelter them, soften their dominance or add depth and texture.
- Weaving- interlacing materials using the 'warp and weft' manner.
- Wedging- inserting materials into a position so that it is securely fixed at 2 or more points.
- Winding- flexible material that is wound around itself or other materials in a meandering way.
- Wiring- use of wire as a support, control or means of anchoring materials.
- Wrapping- using materials to enfold, enclose, package or conceal the inner materials.
- Zoning- placement of materials in distinct areas/regions/sections to achieve bold contrasts. Repetition of zoning can create a strong sense of rhythm withing the design, as well as strong areas of dominance.
Colour Harmonies:
Knowing you colour harmonies is really useful for when coming to make designs as its good to know what hues work best together and what ones are a no go. This is to make life so much easier for you:
- Primary colours- these are colours that cannot be mixed:
- Blue
- Yellow
- Red
- Secondary colours- these are a mixture of two primary colours:
- Orange= Red and Yellow
- Green= Yellow and Blue
- Purple= Red and Blue
- Tertiary colours- these are a mix of a primary colour and a secondary colour. It will always be called by the primary colour name and then the secondary colour name for example; Blue+Green= Blue green.
- Colour modification-
- Hue: pure colour
- Tint: pure hue with white
- Shade: pure hue mixed with black
- Tone: pure hue mixed with grey
- Achromatic- these are colours that have been altered so much that they are no longer recognizable for example; a funeral display where all the flowers are white and you cannot count the foliage as it is a backdrop, so therefore the design itself is Achromatic (void of colour). Colours include-
- Black
- Dark Grey
- Grey
- White
- Monochromatic- the hue, tines, tones and shades of one colour. For example; a design with only one colour (e.g Red) then the design would be monochromatic. Remember= mono means one.
- Analogous- three or four colours next to each other on the colour wheel. For example; Oranges, Greens and Purples.
- Tetradic- four colours evenly spaced on the colour wheel; every third colour.
- Triadic- three colours evenly spaced on the colour wheel; every fourth colour.
- Contrasting- two colours which are not in the same 'generic group' (commonly complementary, split complementary, double complementary, triadic).
- Polychromatic- five or more colours.
- Complementary- two colours opposite on the colour wheel: think egg timer.
- Split complementary- three colours; one colour and both colours next to the complementary: think the letter Y.
- Near complementary- two colours; one colour and one of the colours next to the complementary.
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